Sample Sunday – Forbid

Unedited.

Subject to Change.

Enjoy.

“I… didn’t realize it would interest you.”

“You growing out your hair, growing out your beard, looking all sexy and rugged is of very high interest to me, actually,” she quipped, grinning. “As a matter of fact, I’d like to formally request that as of today you send me a daily picture documenting this process.”

I laughed. “There’s no process, I’ve just been too preoccupied to take my ass to the barber. It’ll be gone soon.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked, no longer grinning. Her expression was completely serious. “I feel a little attacked right now.”

“Yes,” she said, from closer than she’d been before. When I turned to grab my weekly dispenser, she was coming around the counter. “As the woman you are in the very early stages of dating, I forbid it.”

“Oh damn, forbid?” I chuckled as she came right up beside me. “What advice would you give a woman who had a man forbidding her to do something with her hair?”

My question was met with a low moan, and Noah slid her arms around my waist, pressing herself into me as I turned to face her. “Oooh. I love it when you point out my internalized sexism.”

“Your ass is silly,” I murmured, meeting her halfway as she pushed herself up on her toes for a kiss. Once again, she tasted like fruit for breakfast – strawberries specifically – which made it only seem natural to deepen the kiss, gripping her at the waist to pull her closer. She moved her hands too, pushing them up and over my chest to hook around my shoulders.

“Seriously,” she said, when we finally pulled back. “Don’t you want to keep this?” Her fingers went to my overgrown facial hair, gently gliding through before she cupped my ears – something she couldn’t have known would make me want to bend her over my kitchen counter.

“I’ll take your feedback under advisement,” I told her, then stepped away to put some space between us. “What do you want to do today? How many days did you say you were here?”

“Today and tomorrow, but I have meetings tomorrow. I’m all yours today though, and I want to do whatever you would normally do.”

I expected her to stop at the door to my bedroom, but she followed me inside, leaning against the wall by the dresser as I flipped on the light to the closet. “Well,” I called from inside as I grabbed some clothes, “I’m guessing you don’t have balls to sit around and scratch with me, so that’s probably out.”

“Nick, eww.”

I chuckled as I stepped out of the closet to find her frowning, arms crossed.

“Just saying. But nah, I would usually be fixing myself some breakfast around this time, but I’ve been so preoccupied that I haven’t been to the grocery store. I was gonna say we could grab something, and just go explore the city a bit, but you probably aren’t hungry.”

She sucked her teeth. “Uh, why would you think that? I’m definitely hungry.”

“Oh, I thought you already had breakfast?”

“A couple of strawberries from an airport convenience store fruit bowl. I grabbed it on the way out, but I didn’t want to eat in the Uber, and by the time I got to my hotel room, I was too exhausted to eat, period.”

Shaking my head, I pulled off the tee shirt I’d only put on after my shower this morning because Noah was coming by – answering the door shirtless hadn’t seemed like a good way to put her at ease. “I still don’t know why you wouldn’t let me give you a ride from the airport.”

“Because I knew I’d see you today,” she argued. “And that was a pretty late flight. I didn’t want you having to get all the way across town to chauffeur me, and then having to go all the way back.”

“I wouldn’t have been tripping about that.” Once I had the new shirt pulled on, I stopped to look at her. “But if you haven’t really eaten, we should definitely start with breakfast.”

“I like that plan. I’m starving,” she groaned, putting a hand to her bare stomach for dramatic effect. For a second, I’d considered just sticking with the basketball shorts I was already wearing, but I couldn’t.

Not with her looking like she was, in skinny jeans that rode low on her hips, and a gauzy crop top that put nicely defined abs on display.

Damn she’s fine.

“Well, let me finish getting dressed, and find some oil or something for this hair so I’m not looking raggedy, then we can go.”